The chlorite ion, referred to herein as chlorite, has been used in various contexts. Sodium chlorite is a strong oxidizing agent, and has been used in water purification, disinfection, and in bleaching and deodorizing animal products. Because sodium chlorite produces highly toxic chlorine gas under acid conditions, aqueous solutions employed in commerce are usually provided as extremely basic (approximately pH 13) solutions, with the pH adjusted using sodium hydroxide.
Chlorite has also been used to treat various diseases or conditions. For example, chlorite has been used to treat infections and to cause regeneration of bone marrow. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,437 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,222. Chlorite has also been used to treat HIV, recurrent prostate cancer, cystitis, and chronic active hepatitis C disease. See, for example, McGrath et al., Development of WF10, a novel macrophage-regulating agent, Curr Opin Investig Drugs, 3(3):365-73 (March 2002). These diseases or conditions have generally been treated with intravenous injection of WF10, a commercially available formulation of chlorite. The approximately 12.3 pH of this formulation may be problematic for some forms of administration to physiological systems.
Chlorite has also been described for use in treating oral or periodontal diseases or conditions, such as inflammation of the gingiva. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,350,438.
Earlier formulations of chlorite include tetrachlorodecaoxygen, or TCDO, preparations by Kuhne, which are described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,285 and below; and formulations including inorganic boron, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,296,103 to Laso; chlorite formulations are also disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,082,146.
TCDO, which is also known as OXO-K993, is one form of stabilized chlorite. It is available from OxoChemie GmbH (Wanzleben, Germany). OXO-K993 is a mixture of chlorite, chloride, chlorate, and sulfate ions. WF10 is a dilution of TCDO intravenously administered to treat, for example, HIV/AIDS and cancer. Oxoferin is a more dilute form of OXO-K993 which has been used for topical wound healing. All of these formulations comprise chlorite ion, chloride ion, chlorate ion, and sulfate ion. For example, according to the WF10 packaging information, after dilution WF10 contains 4.25% chlorite ions, 1.9% chloride ions, 1.5% chlorate ions, 0.7% sulfate ions, and sodium as the cation (percentages in weight/total volume). The non-chlorite elements of TCDO in these various forms, for example the chlorate ions, may cause undesirable effects when administered to physiological systems. For example, ingestion of sodium chlorate causes irritation to the gastrointestinal tract, and may result in nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Mallinckrodt Baker Inc. MSDS 53314, Aug. 10, 2004. Other symptoms include abdominal pain, hemolysis, methemoglobinemia, cyanosis, anuria, coma, and convulsions. Id. Further, exposure to sodium chlorate may cause liver and kidney damage, and repeated ingestion of small amounts may cause loss of appetite and weight loss. Id.
Various topically formulated chlorite-containing gums, toothpastes, lozenges, etc., have been developed. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,350,438 and related patents and applications. However, these topical, oral formulations are not appropriate for many uses, including but not limited to nontopical uses such as parenteral or systemic administration.
Thus, there remains a need for chlorite formulations that are better suited to administration to physiological systems, including but not limited to parenteral and systemic administration to physiological systems.